benadryl
by Ju5t An0th3r H3d63h06
Summary: "I don't get sick." —Kaito, allergies, and denial. oneshot. {fill for zexal fanworkathon the third}


**a/n: **this was a ficathon fill for everyone over at Asa's fanwork marathon. I decided to post it here to prove I'm not dead. henceforth, please enjoy the very second fic of my zexal career.**  
timeline: **au-ish?  
**disclaimer: **LISTEN. IF I OWNED ZEXAL, I WOULD AT LEAST HAVE MADE MYSELF A D-GAZER.  
**edits:** crap. I accidentally posted the unedited ending. thanks guest!

* * *

benadryl

* * *

_The thing _is deceptively inconspicuous at first.

In fact, _the thing_ begins with little more than a scratchy throat and a few more coughs than usual and is easily combatted with a handful of cough drops that Kaito locates in what passes for a kitchen in Heartland Tower. The sneezing fit that occurs next is a bit more embarrassing, mainly because it asserts itself right in the middle of a practice duel against Yuma and Shark. (Thankfully, Yuma shuts up about it after a week, which is just as well because Kaito was beginning to contemplate clobbering the hyperactive male over the head with a duel disk the next time he yelled "ULTIMATE PHOTON SNEEZE" in the middle of the sidewalk.) The itchy eyes are a bit of a new thing as well; the blond merely scowls and adds tissues to the growing list of things he won't leave home without. It's only after he snaps awake in the middle of the night with a vague sense of dread and a splitting headache that Kaito Tenjo is willing to admit that anything might be the tiniest bit wrong.

* * *

"You're sick, Niisan," declares Haruto the next morning.

Kaito spreads Nutella on one half of a sandwich for Haruto's lunch and tries not to wince as his younger brother tells him off for staying up so late.

* * *

Ryoga is even less helpful when they meet up to compare notes about the Barians.

"You look terrible. Did you even sleep last night?"

And Kaito bites back a_ no of course not because I was up half the night sneezing you imbecile_ (and then realizes with faint horror that he really must be sick because when did he start to give a crap about insulting anyone?) Despite the terrifying observation, he keeps silent because Ryoga is saying something about the Big Dipper that actually sounds like a promising lead.

* * *

To his credit, Yuma does try.

"There's this weird sickness that causes you to get a fever and a cold and temperature issues!" declares the spiky-haired male as he and his friends eat lunch atop the roof. (Kaito's only there because Haruto's elementary school is across the street, but if he's being completely honest with himself the company isn't too bad either.) "It's caused by something called gamma rays, I think—"

"OH MY GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS?" yells Kotori, and Kaito puts a hand to his face as he watches his friend attempt to justify classifying _gamma radiation poisoning_ as a legitimate disease.

* * *

"There's been a cold going around lately," remarks Rio that afternoon as Kaito leaves the elementary school with his little brother in tow.

"I don't get sick," replies Kaito tonelessly because well, he doesn't. Even with what he can remember of his childhood, he has no recollection of a cold or the flu or even food poisoning.

"Yeah, okay." Rio snorts. "Try eating more citrus," she adds before yelling at Shark to slow the heck down, who even walks that fast?

"She seemed really concerned about you, niisan," says Haruto innocently. (Too innocently.) "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, Haruto." Kaito decides not to inform his little brother that Ryoga's twin sister is probably worried about him only because he looks like he's going to pass out any second and not due to any sort of romantic interest.

* * *

"Perhaps you are still recovering from your Photon Mode transformations," observes Astral, and Kaito finds a certain amount of irony in the fact that the alien has given out the most practical theory yet on a human disease.

* * *

Everything checks out fine when he runs the scan (because what else was he supposed to do after Yuma called him a Ghost-type Pokemon, whatever that was) except for one insignificant detail.

* * *

_Allergy report: 100% positive._

* * *

(Because like he told Rio, he doesn't get sick, doesn't get these _allergies_ or whatever the heck they're called—they're an insignificant detail because they _don't matter_, and maybe he's being childish by calling allergies _the thing_ but he doesn't care, he's going to go get some sleep—)

Sleep is impossible because Kaito keeps sneezing uncontrollably _(has this room ever even been dusted?)_ and whenever he's not sneezing he's coughing because his throat itches and it doesn't matter how many cough drops he eats, they taste terrible and they don't help in the slightest, so he gets up and gets dressed and walks to the convenience store across the street and somehow ends up in the medicine aisle. The colors and the bright lights are making his headache worse, so he grabs the first box he sees under the bright orange "allergy medicine!" sign and heads to the counter, wondering how the night could possibly get any worse.

Life takes him up on that challenge. Rio is behind him in the checkout line.

* * *

"I thought you didn't get sick."

"It's allergy medicine."

"_You_ have aller—"

"NO."

* * *

And with that (definitely mature and not at all five-year-old-esque) retort, Kaito slams the Benadryl down on the counter and tries to ignore Rio's smug grin from behind him.

* * *

"_No,_ I _don't_ want a bag!"

* * *

-fin.


End file.
